


"The Road Goes Ever On and On"

by Elizabeth_Scripturient



Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2004-05-31
Updated: 2004-05-31
Packaged: 2017-10-05 23:04:56
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 554
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/46989
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Elizabeth_Scripturient/pseuds/Elizabeth_Scripturient
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"The Road goes ever on and on / Down from the door where it began. [...] Where many paths and errands meet. / And whither then? I cannot say."</p>
            </blockquote>





	"The Road Goes Ever On and On"

**Author's Note:**

  * For [voleuse](https://archiveofourown.org/users/voleuse/gifts).



> Post-"Chosen" non-shippy Tara &amp; Anya written for [](http://voleuse.livejournal.com/profile)[**voleuse**](http://voleuse.livejournal.com/) for the [Significant Others ficathon](http://www.livejournal.com/users/remember_nomore/446834.html)
> 
> the request:
>
>> Pairing: Tara, Anya  
> Up to two requests: Watching LOTR together, criticizing accuracy  
> Up to two restrictions: No character bashing, no boys
> 
> I don't know LOTR very well, so my thanks to the Internet for assistance, particularly [this site](http://jackflannel.org/lotr/). 

"I can't believe we get to watch videos in Heaven."

"Well, this isn't exactly Heaven. It's merely one of the more paradisiacal dimensions, accessible only by spirits whose corporeal forms have ceased to exist as functional entities on their original plane of existence."

"Sounds like the human conception of Heaven to me."

Anya shrugged. "I suppose it is then."

"I wonder if Xander's seen _Return of the King_ yet. It hadn't come out yet when -- when we left."

"Oh, Xander won't see the movies. He says they do a disservice to the books."

"Well he's right on that. They change so many things. The Shire isn't destroyed in the movie, for one. That's one of the great moments of the story. Saruman nearly destroys this symbol of all that is good and right, but everyone, not just the warriors, works to rebuild it. It's like the culmination of the message of the whole trilogy. And Peter Jackson leaves the whole thing out."

Anya was silent.

"And Arwen. That's another example. She speaks only one line in the book, and in the movie she gets built up into this big character, to make the movie appeal to more women or something. But they do some horrible things to her character. Like they have her setting out to leave Aragorn, to leave Middle Earth. It's just insane given what we know from the books."

"I think the men should wear less clothing. And have more muscles. I think that would make the movie better."

"Anya!"

"Is it really so important that the movie stay true to the book? Tolkein wasn't all that great anyway."

"What are you talking about? He invented an entire world with its own history, its own language even."

"And he was something of a jerk, too. I had dinner with him once when I was in England on business. The man barely even looked at me the whole night. He kept babbling about Middle Earth."

Tara rolled her eyes.

"Do you care about anything besides sex?"

"Well, I used to care about vengeance, but then I gave that up, and there isn't much call for vengeance in this place. No money either."

"If this is Paradise, shouldn't it have everything you want?"

"I said it's one of the more paradisaical dimensions. I didn't say it was wholly paradisaical."

Tara looked worried. "Does that mean some giant dog is going to leap out from around a corner and try to kill us?"

"Oh, nothing of the sort. There's nothing _dangerous_ in this place. Except maybe boredom. It'll provide most any sort of tame amusement you want. Movies, amusement park rides, stuff like that. But there's nothing really exciting.

Don't you already know all this anyway? You've actually been here for a while. I just know this from when I was a demon."

"I never really thought about it before. I was riding horses, and swimming in the ocean, and I was just enjoying myself. I didn't really think about anything else.

And then everything shifted when you showed up. I guess part of what I wanted was to be with people I remembered, so when you showed up the dimension shifted my reality to accommodate you."

"Interesting. Maybe we can make it give us what we want after all, then."

"Let's find out."


End file.
